| Wandering the West Coast: Trip report, Nov. 7-14, 2009 (part 1) |
[25 Nov 2009|06:13pm] |
I have always been a stalwart defender of Columbus, considered by some to be underappreciated and undervalued in the face of better-known cities such as Cincinnati and Cleveland. People say it's boring and lame, and I reply that no, it's actually a great place to live, and compares favorably to a lot of other cities as far as stuff to see and do.
Well, Columbus is still a good, cheap place to live, but after visiting three amazing cities in San Francisco, Portland and Seattle, it's not looking so hot anymore. These cities are exciting places with vibrant downtowns, teeming with all kinds of people all the time. Columbus got so excited about opening a downtown movie theater a few years back... well, guess what? These cities have downtown movie theaters old and new, and it's expected because people actually want to live downtown. These cities have convenient and useful transportation options apart from interstates. They are surrounded on all sides by natural beauty. The journalism is better. The winters are warmer. Everything's just... cooler.
Of course, all of this means property costs four or five times as much and moving is probably just a pipe dream, so I'll have to be content to visit once in a while. And I will.
Report begins now. (Had to break it into three parts, thanks a lot, new LJ rules.)
( If a picture is worth 1,000 words, here are a bunch of words. )
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| Updated states visited map |
[20 Nov 2009|05:16pm] |
Got Oregon and Washington.
Visited US States Map from TravelBlog
Those are pretty good ones, too, as I feel like I saw a good portion of them. Not like Minnesota, where I've seen only the airport, or Wisconsin, where I've seen only the smallest bit of the southeasternmost corner. Or like New Mexico, where I haven't been since I was 10 years old.
Stupid Oklahoma!
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| Coming attractions + a dog's butt |
[17 Nov 2009|06:17pm] |
Just got back from an epic road trip from San Francisco to Seattle. Incredibly long, mind-numbingly detailed trip report with photos and video coming within two weeks.
Until then, enjoy this photo of my dog Millie's butt:
She stayed at Pet Palace while we were gone. Pet Palace gives you a "report card" to show how your dog behaved. On Millie's, they wrote, "Best corgi ever!!!" and four different employees detailed how much fun they had playing with her. I'm proud of my girl.
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| A few thoughts on the new "Christmas Carol" movie |
[02 Nov 2009|07:33pm] |
1) The trailer says, "Based on the greatest Christmas story of all time." It also shows Scrooge flying through the air on some sort of rocket and getting repeatedly bashed with icicles. Hey, maybe there's a reason it's the greatest Christmas story of all time, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't involve rockets.
2) While Scrooge is flying through the air, he screams, "Humbug." Uh, "humbug" isn't just a random word that you can say for any purpose. Scrooge used it to mean "B.S." or "whatever" or "screw that." You don't say "screw that" when you're flying through the air.
3) "A Christmas Carol," really? Is there another story that's been raped more times by Hollywood? Every single sitcom ever made, including, I'm sure, "Small Wonder," has done at least one parody of it. At least one movie a year is based on it, including that almost certainly retarded "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" that came out last year. Enough already.
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| The genius of Nicholson Baker |
[28 Oct 2009|02:56pm] |
I'm reading Nicholson Baker's new book, "The Anthologist."
I would say he's my favorite writer, but more accurately, he's the only writer whose work I actively seek out. I read books here and there if the subject intrigues me, but anything Baker writes, I will read.
His genius lies in his ability to analyze the mundane. It's like observational humor taken a step further, or several steps further. Seinfeld might say, "Did you ever notice that your shoelaces never break at the same time? What's the deal with that?" Baker brings up the issue, then spends the next five pages expounding on it: the history of shoelaces, the science of shoelaces, his hypotheses. All of it phrased intricately with the kind of language that makes me want to read each sentence twice, just to make sure I'm fully appreciating it.
Baker's books are fiction, but barely. His first book is "The Mezzanine," a book I consider to be my favorite contemporary novel, and the only physical action that takes place in it is that a man rides an escalator from the first floor of his office building to the second. The rest happens in his mind on the way up. Similarly, the inferior but still great "Room Temperature" follows a father's thoughts as he prepares to feed his baby. "A Box of Matches" also uses that format, concerning a man's thoughts as he lights a fire in his fireplace each morning.
"The Everlasting Story of Nory" is a little different, more of a novel feel, but still concerned with the inner existence, only this time it's a little girl's thoughts.
"Checkpoint" was the first book of Baker's that I've read that centered around a theme. Although that theme was morally reprehensible (planning the assassination of George W. Bush), as was the way the story was told (all dialogue, like a play), it still showed flashes of brilliance.
Now I'm reading "The Anthologist," whose theme is poetry. Specifically, the musings of an unsuccessful poet, unlucky in life and love but knowledgeable about rhyme and meter. Most of the keen observations here have to do with poetry, which I'm not particularly a fan of, but Baker makes it intriguing. I'm only halfway through it, but I anticipate putting this one down in the "recommend" column.
I have also read parts of Baker's book of essays on libraries. I haven't touched "The Fermata" or "Vox" because of the unappealing subject matter (one's about a man who freezes time to molest women; the other's about phone sex, and was famously given to Bill Clinton as a gift from Monica Lewinsky), but I may give at least "The Fermata" a try soon. I'm not touching "Human Smoke," Baker's massive nonfiction tome on the Civil War. (or is it World War 1? I forget).
Either way, I think this is the fourth time I've said this here, but you owe it to yourself to read "The Mezzanine." It's short and it will make you laugh, and you will be thinking about it for weeks, if not years.
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| About Wii Play |
[15 Oct 2009|04:39pm] |
So even though I've had it for almost a year now, and even though it's incredibly shallow, and even though it's basically just teaching software designed to show you how to use the Wiimote, I'm obsessed with Wii Play all the sudden.
I think it started when I noticed you can earn bronze, silver, gold or platinum medals in each game. I can't just let a game go when it gives me goals like that. I have to keep trying until I get it. This is the same attitude that led me to complete the entire Story Mode of Mario Party 3 with every character, which of course offered no reward for that 40+ hours of playing time.
Anyway. Getting the platinum medals in Wii Play is surprisingly hard. I've got them in the shooting range, billiards and cow racing. I'm very close in table tennis and fishing. I'm not that close in Find Mii but I'm getting better, so I should get it before too long.
That leaves three games: Tanks, Pose Mii and Laser Hockey. Not even close on any of them. You need 16 points in Laser Hockey for platinum; my best is 9. Similarly, you need 160 tanks in Tanks; I have.... 45. Ugh. I don't even want to think about Pose Mii. My score is like a fourth of what you need and that game stresses me out.
But I must do it. And there better be some sort of reward, too. A small animation, or congratulations text, or a new shirt for my Mii, I don't care. ANYTHING.
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| Weather blows |
[15 Oct 2009|10:04am] |
Indian summer is the best time of the year. The sky is sparkling blue and the leaves are red and orange, but it's warm enough to wear shorts.
Jym Ganahl from NBC4 thinks there's not going to be one this year. Something about sunspots. Whatever. So not only did we not have summer this year, we're not going to have Indian summer, either.
Five days. That's the number of days over 90 degrees this year in Columbus. Blecch. And now we're having the worst possible weather - dark, gray, rainy and on the cusp of freezing - and it's not even close to winter yet. It makes me sad.
Hopefully they're having Indian summer in the Pacific Northwest this year. :D
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| One awesome thing |
[14 Oct 2009|06:42pm] |
I've been reading the website "1000 Awesome Things" pretty much every weekday since it started... decent writing but the idea is great. In the spirit of that, here is one awesome thing I realized is awesome the other day.
And that thing is: When you're at a restaurant and you've eaten all you can eat, and you're so stuffed you're about to vomit, and you can't even bear to look at your leftovers, but then something inside you convinces you to take it home anyway, and then the next day you open the fridge and see it there, and it tastes delicious and makes a whole meal, and you are happy you brought it home, and run-on sentences.
That is all.
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| Starbucks rumors confirmed |
[07 Oct 2009|03:32pm] |
I've spent the better part of the last 10 years telling myself (and other people, when the subject is breached) that I dislike Starbucks because the coffee is bitter and gross.
I just came to the realization the other day that I've never actually had a cup of coffee from Starbucks. Every time I've ever gone there, I've had tea in some form. I've had Starbucks ground coffee at home and in hotel rooms, but not at a coffeeshop.
So I remedied that today. And it's true: Starbucks coffee is bitter and gross. Not so much that I wasn't able to drink the whole cup, but it wasn't exactly an enjoyable experience.
Also confirmed: Starbucks coffee is more expensive. Not the proverbial "$4 coffee" that everyone talks about, but $1.65 for the smallest size, which is "tall," wtf. Actually I ordered a "short," which according to the interwebs is an unadvertised smaller size that all Starbucks stores have, but what I got was a tall at the tall price, so apparently the interwebs are full of crap, as per usual.
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| Stuck in flyover country |
[04 Oct 2009|09:27pm] |
I just watched "Adventureland," which wasn't that great of a movie, but that's beside the point. The main character's goal is to go to New York City, but he doesn't have enough money so he's "stuck" in Pittsburgh instead.
I'm so sick of movie characters being so obsessed with New York and Los Angeles, and if they're anywhere else, they're "stuck" there. As if it's impossible to make a viable living and be content in middle America. As if everyone's eventual goal should be to move to one of the coasts, and only then are they a success.
I've never been to New York City, but I think I hate it. I've hated it ever since I saw that "New Yorker" with the cartoon on the cover that shows how New Yorkers apparently view the world (i.e. a flat, featureless plain west of the New Jersey state line). I hate self-importance. It's just a city. It might be fun to go there and you can do some things there you can't do anywhere else, but is living there really all it's cracked up to be? I'm betting not.
Funny how 8 million people can all think they're so special just because they all live in the same 10 square miles.
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| So here's a question |
[28 Sep 2009|12:30pm] |
Why is some SNL cast member in trouble for saying the F-word once on the air, when the very same network TV station can air "Saving Private Ryan" unedited at a much earlier hour?
It's a word. You've heard it, I've heard it, little kids have heard it. If you have a teenage son or daughter, I guarantee you they have said it. In fact if they're like I was when I was a teenager, they say it dozens of times a day.
I remember the day I first heard it. I was in first grade and Eric Davis (not the famous one) typed it on a Speak-n-Spell.
You don't want your kids to hear it? Well, probably shouldn't let them watch a show that comes on at 11:30 p.m. that has been known for controversial topics for 30 years.
You don't want to hear it? Grow up. Or, if you can't handle it, see above.
But no. Everyone's in a fervor about it, and millions of dollars probably will be spent in some "investigation" of this matter, just like so much time and money was wasted "looking into" the Janet Jackson boob incident and Bono saying the F-word at the Grammys.
So very lame.
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| Just give me my prescription already |
[15 Sep 2009|03:16pm] |
You can always tell when your eye doctor is straight out of college, because he always wants to do all these tests and additional stuff to your eyes when all you really want is a new contact lens prescription.
I went to Lenscrafters yesterday and saw the new doctor there. Well, first, let's backtrack: Around 12-13 years ago, an eye doctor told me I had a tiny hole in my left retina. He said if I ever saw something that looked like a dark curtain coming down over my left eye, that means the hole's getting bigger and I should see a doctor right away. But he also said the chances of that were very slim and that most likely it wouldn't be a problem.
I've been to an eye doctor at least once a year since then, and no other doctor has ever brought it up. That is until Dr. N00b sees it and decides he wants to take a bunch of photos of it and see me again in three months. I don't think so.
Oh, that's not all. He also said I'm having an allergic reaction to my contacts (first time a doctor's ever told me that), and that I should switch to a (very expensive) contact cleaning system, rather than using the $2-a-bottle no-rub stuff I'm using now. Right, that's going to happen.
Finally, he moves on to my eyelids. Apparently something there is not working like it should, and he gives me this pamphlet called "Why Lid Care?" (seriously) and goes through this routine I should do every day to clean out my eyelids. Step one, rub on some cleanser ($16 for a tiny bottle). Step two, put hot rag over eyelids for five minutes. Step three, massage eyelids. Not even joking about this.
Listen, doc, I know you're just doing your job, but when my eyes start bothering me, I will tell you. If they're not bothering me, all I want is a new scrip so I can order my contacts and start seeing again. KTHXBYE.
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| Hurricane Ike - NEVAR FORGET |
[14 Sep 2009|01:33pm] |
One year ago today, we had the weirdest weather I've ever seen in Ohio.
There was no rain, no hail, no lightning or thunder, yet the wind was blowing trees over. Old people in my neighborhood were outside picking up branches, even as bigger branches were dropping all around them.
I was helping Rachel take down a display at the convention center that day. On the way there, we had trouble getting through Clintonville because every street was blocked by falling trees. We actually had one tree fall right in front of us. I recall, state Route 161 in Worthington was closed for well over a week due to a pile of trees and power lines and a crushed car in the middle of the road. The side streets around that area were like tunnels later on that week as everyone put walls of branches and debris alongside the alleys for pickup.
My neighborhood with its relatively young trees made out pretty well as far as damage. However we were among the last neighborhoods in Columbus to get power back. We had no electricity for six full days, and at the risk of sounding petty, it was terrible. We lost everything in our freezer and fridge, obviously, and spent a ton of money on fast food that week. Plus we had to baby-sit three kids on the weekend and had no easy way to pacify them (or feed them for that matter). Not good.
Anyway, looks like better weather today so that's happy.
In other news, last year's weather was super-freaky, but this year's has been downright boring. Last year we had the hurricane and the 20-inch snowfall, but this year we can't even hit 90 degrees in the summer. I think last year was the -17 week, too, wasn't it?
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| Snapple is gross |
[11 Sep 2009|03:09pm] |
I have given Snapple about a dozen chances to be good, but it is not good. It is gross.
I thought that since Snapple now is using all-natural ingredients (including real sugar), it would be better, but it is not. Still gross.
I don't know how you can mess up "water, tea, sugar, flavor," but they do.
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| Arachnid! |
[11 Sep 2009|11:41am] |
I saw and subsequently destroyed the largest spider I've ever seen in the wild last night.
Dude was crouched on the wall right under my sliding patio door, waiting for some sucker to step into his path and be devoured.
If he'd been in the garden or lawn, I wouldn't have killed it, but it was just too big and creepy to let it stay on my house. I would never be able to step outside without getting the willies.
Seriously, it was the size of a pancake. Note to spiders: Your territory is the yard. Touch my house, in most cases you are going to die. Especially if your body has the same diameter as a billiard ball.
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| Pants update |
[09 Sep 2009|05:56pm] |
This week is encore week for at least one, possibly two pairs of pants.
Yes, I finally bit the bullet and spent $100 on clothes two weeks ago. This is the first time I have spent any money on work clothes since summer 2002, when I bought a shirt and a pair of pants at an outlet mall in Hershey, Pa. (both shirt and pants are still in heavy rotation). Since then, I've sustained my wardrobe on the annual outfit or two I get from my mom for Christmas, plus a one-time donation of shirts from my brother, most of which are also still in heavy rotation.
The new pants are gray and tan, to replace the similarly colored pants I'm wearing twice a week now. You know your pants are old when you have to use scissors to snip off the loose threads from the cuffs every time you wear them. I hope I can retire both my old gray and old tan pants, because not only are they falling apart, they don't fit anymore, since I have gained 10 pounds over the last year after maintaining a steady 140 for eight or nine years previous to that. Should probably think about exercising, like, ever. Anyway.
Also got two shirts, blue and tan, I think. Hopefully I can toss two existing shirts, some of which are fraying at the collar and cuffs. But will probably have to keep them around for emergencies. At any rate, since I only bought two pairs of pants, I'll have to keep at least one pair that's too tight and/or falling apart. I thought $120 would buy me enough pants and shirts to keep me going for a while, but they're fricking expensive, even at Kohl's. Obviously I haven't bought clothes in a while.
You know how much easier my life would be if I had a uniform to wear to work? I would welcome that.
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| Spoon(s)! |
[07 Sep 2009|07:43pm] |
Got back late last night from Rachel's family's reunion extravaganza. Two full days of family fun with 50+ people.
She loves it. And the people are great. Not exactly the way I would have chosen to spend every Labor Day weekend for life, but there are a lot worse ways, and it whomps every other family reunion I've been to with a sledgehammer.
The best part about it is the spoons tourney. This year we had 14 players, two decks of cards, a scorekeeper (that's Rachel), and two judges. The game is always preceded by a long, heated discussion about the rules, including whether or not faking is allowed and when (the decision: when a player has "SPOON," he can fake; if the faker touches a spoon, that's a letter; the first person who touches a spoon after a successful fake gets a letter). Also, the winner of each round (the guy who gets four of a kind) gets a point; five points and you get a letter taken off your score.
With 14 players it takes a couple of hours, but it's good times all around. About every third round ends in a wrestling match on, beside or under the table.
I was runner-up last year, but got out about halfway through this year. I did successfully fake out the eventual winner, giving him his only letter, so that's something to be proud of. I will get my name engraved on that spoons plaque eventually. (Yes, really.)
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| TAKE MY MONEY |
[27 Aug 2009|02:12pm] |
You wouldn't think it would be that difficult to get a company to take your money, but Starwood is proving otherwise.
I made three reservations with Starwood hotels a month ago. The rates were special pre-paid rates, i.e. they are cheaper than normal so you have to pay in advance. I transferred the money set aside in my savings account into my checking account, then made the reservations on my debit card.
Two weeks later, none of the money had been taken out of my account. So I took the money back out of my checking account and put it back into savings, figuring they would just wait until I got there to take the money (which is what they did last year when I stayed in a Starwood hotel in Hawaii).
But that made me nervous so I called. Apparently, to them, "pre-paid" doesn't mean they take the money right away. "Pre-paid" means they reserve the right to take the money ANY TIME between when you make the reservations and when you arrive.
So I put the money back in the checking account. Then I called the reservations office to ask them to charge my account NOW rather than later. They said I would have to call the individual hotels.
I've spent the last two weeks on the phone with three hotels, begging them to take my money. One of them wanted me to fax my debit card and driver's license to them. Two of them had to take down my number and have an accounts executive call me later. One of them asked me to forward them the email reservation confirmation.
I finally got it all taken care of today, though I plan to print out my bank statement with me when I check in, because I almost guarantee at least one of them will try to charge my debit card again. Ugh.
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